Nato: Ukraine nuclear plant attack shows ‘recklessness’ of war

(Update 1: Adds detail of casualties in nuclear plant shelling, graf 5)

Brussels, Mar 4 (EFE).- A Russian attack that caused a fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Europe’s largest, demonstrated the “recklessness” of war, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.

“We condemn the attacks on civilians. And over the night, we have also seen reports about the attack against the nuclear power plant,” he told reporters ahead of an extraordinary meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels.

Ukraine’s state inspectorate for nuclear regulation on Friday said that Russian troops had captured the Zaporizhzhia plant on the Dnieper river in southern Ukraine but that its employees remained on the premises.

Russian shelling caused a fire at a training facility at the plant that was later extinguished, Ukrainian emergency services said.

The inspectorate later said three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the attack.

There were no signs of elevated radiation levels at the site, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said Friday.

Stoltenberg said the attack on the power plant highlighted the importance of ending the war and for Russia to withdraw all of its forces from Ukraine and return to diplomacy.

Speaking alongside Stoltenberg, United States secretary of state Antony Blinken added: “Ours is a defensive alliance, we seek no conflict. But if conflict comes to us we are ready for it and we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”EFE

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